As The Guardian reports, unscrupulous online lenders in China are demanding naked images of female customers as collateral.

In the event that payments are late, the lender threatens to publish the naked pictures.

Quoting Chinese state media, The Guardian says college students have been targets of this scheme. If they agree to hand over naked pictures and their ID details, they're given bigger loans.

One woman reportedly fell behind on her payments and had to beg her parents for money to prevent pictures of her being published online.

Chinese state media says such deals are being enacted on the Jiedaibao website of a company called JD Capital. Jiedaibao is a platform where individuals can come together for deals of a financial nature.

More Technically Incorrect

China.org reports that, as a practical matter, nude photos are illegal as collateral in China.

Firstly, they clearly violate a person's reputation rights. Moreover, they also fall under the laws governing the dissemination of pornography.

Jiedaibao, as sometimes happens with those who run platforms, told China.org that it cannot interfere with these personal arrangements between individuals. It did suggest, however, that those confronted with such a proposal should contact the police.

The supposed privacy of the Internet can bring out the very worst in people.

One can only hope that those responsible for such revenge-porn loans can be stripped of their freedom.